A LONG TIME ago there was an apple tree. A little boy played around it everyday. He climbed the tree, ate its apples, slept in its shade.The boy grew up and didn’t play at the tree anymore. One day he came back. "Come and play," said the tree. "I don’t play with trees," said the boy, "I need toys." The tree told him to pick its apples, sell them and use the money for toys. He did so and didn’t come back a long time.When he was a man he returned. This time he told the tree, "I have a family and we need a house." "Chop off my branches and use them," said the tree. The man did so and left the tree sad and lonely.Years later he was old and wanted a boat to relax. The tree told him to use its trunk.Now only roots were left. The old man came to rest on them. This is our story. The tree is our parents. We played with them when we were young. As we grew, we only went to them when we needed them. They were our anchors.Parents are taken for granted and left lonely like the tree. Only as we get older do we realize we need them, and sometimes it’s too late.